First recorded (as “Day Dah Light”) by Edric Conner & The Caribbeans (1952).
Hit versions by The Tarriers (US #4/R&B #14/UK #15 1956), Sarah Vaughn (US #19 1956), Harry Belafonte (US #5/R&B #7/UK #2 1956), The Fontane Sisters (US #13 1957).
From the wiki: “‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)’ was originally a Jamaican folk song of unknown title. It was thought to be sung by Jamaican banana workers, with a repeated melody and refrain (call and response); with each set lyric there would be a response from the workers but using many different sets of lyrics, some possibly improvised on the spot.
First recorded (as “K.C. Lovin’) by Little Willie Littlefield (1952, reissued/retitled 1959).
Hit versions by Little Richard (as “Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey” US #95/R&B #26 1959), Hank Ballard & the Midnighters (US #72/R&B #16 1959), Rocky Olson (US #60 1959), Wilbert Harrison (US #1/R&B #1 1959), James Brown (US #55/R&B #21 1967).
Also recorded (as “Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey”) by The Beatles (1964).
“The battle and the noise is on!” Billboard highlighting the almost-simultaneous releases of five versions of “Kansas City” the same week in March, 1959.
From the wiki: “First recorded by Little Willie Littlefield the same year, ‘Kansas City’ later became a #1 hit when retitled and recorded by Wilbert Harrison (‘Let’s Work Together‘) in 1959 and, then, went on to become one of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller’s most recorded tunes, with more than three hundred versions, with several appearing on the R&B and pop record charts – including five separate singles released the same week in 1959, four of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Through a connection to producer Ralph Bass, Leiber and Stoller wrote ‘Kansas City’ specifically for West Coast blues/R&B artist Little Willie Littlefield. Littlefield recorded the song in Los Angeles in 1952, during his first recording session for Federal Records. Federal’s Ralph Bass changed the title to ‘K. C. Lovin”, saying he considered it ‘hipper’ than ‘Kansas City’. Littlefield’s record had some success in parts of the U.S., but it did not reach the national chart.
Written and first recorded by Allen Toussaint (1958).
Hit version by Al Hirt (US #4/MOR #1 1963).
Also recorded by The Angels (1964), The Beautiful South (1994).
Performed by The Muppets (1966|1968|1977).
From the wiki: “‘Java’ is an instrumental adaptation from a 1958 LP of piano compositions, The Wild Sounds of New Orleans, by Tousan, also known as New Orleans producer-songwriter Allen Toussaint (‘Working in a Coal Mine’, ‘Southern Nights’). As was the case of the rest of Toussaint’s LP, ‘Java’ was composed at the studio, primarily by Toussaint (along with Freddy Friday, Marilyn Schack, Alvin ‘Red’ Tyler).
“In 1963, trumpet player Al Hirt recorded the instrumental, and the track became the lead single from his album, Honey in the Horn. It was Hirt’s first and biggest hit on the US pop charts, reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spending four weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart in early 1964. Hirt released a live version on his 1965 album, Live at Carnegie Hall. Hirt’s recording won the Grammy Award for “Best Performance by an Orchestra or Instrumentalist with Orchestra” in 1964.
Originally recorded by The Rivileers (1954).
Hit version by Kathy Young & The Innocents (US #3/R&B #6 1960).
From the wiki: “The Rivileers were an R&B quintet who recorded for the Sol Rabinowitz’s New York City-based Baton Record label. ‘A Thousand Stars’ was the label’s first release. (The label’s most enduring hit is arguably ‘Got My Mo-Jo Working‘, first recorded by singer Ann Cole in 1957.)
Written and originally recorded by The Johnny Otis Show (US #9/R&B #5 1958).
Other hit versions by The Strangeloves (US #100 1966), Eric Clapton (US #26 1974), George Thorogood (US #63 1985).
From the wiki: “The origin of the song came when one of radio disc jockey and bandleader Johnny Otis’ managers, Hal Zeiger, found out that rock’n’roll concert venues in England did not permit the teenagers to stand up and dance in the aisles, so they instead danced with their hands while remaining in their seats. The music was based on a song Otis had heard a chain gang singing while he was touring as a teenager with Count Otis Matthews and the West Oakland House Stompers.
First recorded by The Gladiolas (R&B #11 1957).
Other hit version by The Diamonds (US #2 1957).
Also recorded by Sha Na Na (1969), Elvis Presley (1977).
From the wiki: “‘Little Darlin” was written by Maurice Williams and recorded as a rhythm-and-blues song by Williams’s R&B group, The Gladiolas, and quickly released in January 1957 by Excello Records.The Gladiolas, featuring Williams, were from Lancaster, South Carolina, where they had been together since high school. Their original version of the song peaked at #11 on the R&B charts in April 1957, but barely dented the Billboard Hot 100. (By 1959, Williams’ group became ‘Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs’ (‘Stay’).)
Originally recorded by Smiley Lewis (R&B #2 1955).
Other hit versions by Gale Storm (US #2 1955), Dave Edmunds (UK #1 1970 |US #4 1971).
From the wiki: “‘I Hear You Knocking’ (sometimes spelled ‘I Hear You Knockin”) was written in 1955 by Dave Bartholomew and Earl King (under the pen name Pearl King) and first recorded that year by Smiley Lewis, reaching #2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in 1955.
First recorded by Smiley Lewis (R&B #11 1956).
Also recorded by Elvis Presley (1957, released 1983).
Other hit version by Elvis Presley (US #4/R&B #10/CAN #1/UK #1/SWE #1 1958).
From the wiki: “The song was written by Dave Bartholomew, Earl King (under the pseudonym ‘Pearl King’) and Anita Steiman, and was originally recorded by Smiley Lewis in 1956. His recording charted R&B Top-15 in 1956.
“Elvis Presley recorded a cover of the song with its original lyrics on January 18, 1957, but that version would not be released until 1983. Both Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, and Presley’s record company (RCA) had reservations about the suggestive lyrics along with the provocative title, ‘One Night of Sin’. This recording was unheard by the public until its release in 1983 on Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 4. In the meantime, Presley did not give up on the song. He continued to play with it during his spare time on the movie set of Loving You, finally rewriting the lyrics that he felt were holding the song captive.
First recorded (in English) by Jill Corey (US #57 1957).
Other hit versions by The Everly Brothers (US #7 1960), Betty Everett & Jerry Butler (US #5/R&B #1 1964), The Sweet Inspirations (R&B #13 1967), Glen Campbell & Bobbie Gentry (US #36/C&W #14/MOR #7 1969) and Willie Nelson (US #40/C&W #2/MOR #11 1982).
From the wiki: “[O]riginally published in 1955 as ‘Je t’appartiens,’ the score was written and first recorded in French by Gilbert Bécaud (‘September Morn’). The English-language version used lyrics by Mann Curtis and was first performed in 1957 by Jill Corey in the television series Climax!. Corey’s version, with orchestration by Jimmy Carroll, was released as a single and was moderately successful.
First released by Tiny Topsy (1959).
Hit versions by Roscoe Gordon (US #64/R&B #2 1959), Roy Head (US #39 1965).
From the wiki: “‘Just a Little Bit’ was developed when Rosco Gordon was touring with West Coast blues artist Jimmy McCracklin. According to Gordon, McCracklin started to write the song and agreed that Gordon could finish it with both of them sharing the credit. Gordon later presented a demo version to Ralph Bass at King Records, who was reportedly uninterested in the song. Gordon then approached Calvin Carter at Vee-Jay Records, who agreed to record it.
Written and first recorded by Dave Bartholomew (1952).
Also recorded by The Bees (as “Toy Bell” 1954), Chuck Berry (as “My Tambourine” 1968).
Hit version by Chuck Berry (US #1/&B #42/UK #1 1972).
From the wiki: “‘My Ding-a-Ling’ was originally recorded by Dave Bartholomew in 1952 for King Records. When Bartholomew moved to Imperial Records, he re-recorded the song under the new title, ‘Little Girl Sing Ding-a-Ling.’ (In 1954, The Bees also released a version on Imperial titled ‘Toy Bell.’) Bartholomew’s partnership with Fats Domino on Imperial Records produced some of his greatest successes. In the mid 1950s they co-wrote more than forty hits, including two songs that reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart, ‘Goin’ Home’ and ‘Ain’t That a Shame’, along with ‘I’m Walkin”, ‘I Hear You Knocking‘ and ‘One Night‘. Bartholomew is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
First recorded by Peggy Seeger (1957).
Also recorded by The Kingston Trio (1962), Joe & Eddie (1963), Peter, Paul & Mary (1965).
Hit version by Roberta Flack (recorded 1969, US #1/MOR #1/CAN #1/UK #14/AUS #1/NZ #17/SA #2 1972).
From the wiki: “‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger (half-sister of folk singer Pete Seeger), who would later become his wife, to sing. At the time the couple were lovers, although MacColl was married to someone else. Seeger sang the song when the duo performed in folk clubs around Britain.
“During the 1960s, it was recorded by various folk singers before becoming a major international pop hit for Roberta Flack when re-released in 1972 (after its original album release, on First Take, in 1969) following the song’s inclusion in the 1971 movie Play Misty for Me.
Written and first recorded by Bobby Day & the Satellites (1957).
Hit versions by Thurston Harris (US #6/R&B #2 1957), Frankie Lymon (US #58 1960), Clyde McPhatter (US #25 1962), The Jackson 5 (US #13 1972).
From the wiki: “‘Little Bitty Pretty One’ was written and first recorded by Bobby Day. His single did not chart in the US but peaked at #11 on the Canadian CHUM-AM radio chart.
“Day’s first recording was ‘Young Girl’ in 1949 in the R&B group The Hollywood Flames. Day then spent several years with minor musical success limited to the West Coast, recording under numerous other names: The Jets, The Voices, The Sounds, The Crescendos, and as the original ‘Bob’ in the duo Bob & Earl with singer Earl Nelson. In 1957, Day formed his own band called the Satellites, following which he recorded three songs that are seen today as rock ‘n roll classics: ‘Little Bitty Pretty One’, ‘Over and Over’), and ‘Rockin’ Robin’.
“‘Little Bitty Pretty One’ received much wider popularity when covered in 1957 by Thurston Harris. Produced by the Los Angeles label Aladdin Records, and featuring the Sharps on backing vocals, Harris’ version reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart.
Written and originally recorded by Bobby Freeman (US #5/R&B #2 1958).
Other hit versions by The Shadows (UK #2/NETH #1 1962), Del Shannon (US #43 1964), The Beach Boys (US #12 1965), Bette Midler (US #17 1972).
From the wiki: “‘Do You Want to Dance’ is a song written by Bobby Freeman and recorded by him in 1958. Cliff Richard and The Shadows’ version of the song reached #2 in the United Kingdom in 1962, despite being a B-side. It reached #8 in the United States when released by the Beach Boys in 1965 as ‘Do You Wanna Dance?’, and a 1972 cover by Bette Midler (‘Do You Want to Dance?’) reached #17.
Co-written and first recorded by George Shearing (1952).
Hit versions by Ella Fitzgerald (US #31 1954), Blossom Dearie & Blue Stars (US #16 1956).
Also recorded by Sarah Vaughn (1954), Mel Tormé (1956), Amy Winehouse (2004).
From the wiki: “‘Lullaby of Birdland’ is a 1952 popular song with music by George Shearing and, later, lyrics by George David Weiss (under the pseudonym ‘B. Y. Forster’ in order to circumvent the rule that ASCAP and BMI composers could not collaborate).
“The song title refers to Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker and the Birdland jazz club named after him on Broadway near 52nd Street in New York City. Shearing recalls that he wrote ‘Lullaby of Birdland’ for Morris Levy, the owner of the Birdland club. Levy had gotten in touch with Shearing and explained that he’d started a regular Birdland-sponsored disk jockey show, and he wanted Shearing to record a theme which was ‘to be played every hour on the hour.’ Shearing says he wrote ‘the whole thing […] within ten minutes.’
“First released by Shearing as an instrumental in 1952, vocal arrangements of ‘Lullaby of Birdland’ soon followed, with Ella Fitzgerald’s 1954 recording peaking at #31 on the Hit Parade.
First performed and released by Ann Cole with The Suburbans and Orchestra (1957).
First recorded by Muddy Waters (1957).
Also recorded by Louis Jordan (1957), Muddy Waters (1960).
Hit version by Jimmy Smith (US #51/R&B #18/UK #48 1966).
From the wiki: “Late in 1956 Ann Cole went on a short tour through the Southern states with Muddy Waters, during which she regularly performed a new song written by Preston Foster, ‘Got My Mo-Jo Working’. The song impressed Muddy Waters, who recorded it in December 1956 when he returned to Chess Records, adding some of his own words and allocating himself the songwriting credit. Ann Cole recorded her version of ‘Mojo’ in January 1957, with The Suburbans and Orchestra, for Baton Records, as the follow-up to ‘Are You Satisfied’. Both versions of ‘Mojo’ were released in the same week in April 1957.
“The song has been the topic of copyright litigation. Dare Records, holder of songwriter Foster’s copyright, and Arc Records, holder of the McKinley Morganfield (a.k.a. Muddy Waters) copyright, settled out of court, with Arc deferring to Dare’s copyright. The two versions are still separately copyrighted. Nonetheless, MCA/Chess Records has credited the song to Foster in more recent years.
Written and first recorded by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters (early 1958, released 1993)
Based on “Is Your Love For Real” by The Midnighters (1957).
First released by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters (B-side US #28/R&B #16 November 1958 |A-side re-release US #28/R&B #6 1960).
Other hit version by Chubby Checker (US #1/R&B #2/UK #44/AUS #20 1960 |US #1/R&B #4/UK #14/AUS #3 1962).
From the wiki: “Songs about doing ‘the twist’ date back to nineteenth-century minstrelsy, including ‘Grape Vine Twist’ from around 1844. In 1938 Jelly Roll Morton, in ‘Winin’ Boy Blues’, sang, ‘Mama, mama, look at sis, she’s out on the levee doing the double twist’ – a reference to both sex and dancing in those days.
“In 1957, the Midnighters’ Hank Ballard and Cal Green had already had written a song together called ‘Is Your Love for Real’, which they released on the Federal label with no apparent chart success. So, they used ‘Is Your Love for Real’ as the template for a new song by simply putting new words to the older melody and retitling it ‘The Twist’. (‘The Twist’ would, in turn, serve as the template for the Midnighters’ first Top-10 pop hit, ‘Finger Poppin’ Time’ [#7, 1962].)
First performed by Todd Duncan (1955).
First commercial release by The Lex Baxter Orchestra (US #1 1955).
Other hit versions by Al Hibbler (US #3 1955), Jimmy Young (UK #1 1955), Roy Hamilton (US #6/R&B #1 1955), Liberace (UK #20 1955), The Righteous Brothers (US #4/R&B #6/UK #14 1965 |US #13/CAN #4/UK #1/IRE #1/AUS #1/NZ #1 1990), LeAnn Rimes (C&W #3 1996).
From the wiki: “‘Unchained Melody’ is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret, used as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained (hence the name). Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. ‘Unchained Melody’ has since become one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, by some estimates having spawned over 500 versions in hundreds of different languages.
Originally recorded by The Vipers Skiffle Group (1957).
Also recorded by Judy Garland (1964), and The Beatles (1969).
From the wiki: “Banned by BBC Radio on its release because of the sexual content of the lyrics, ‘Maggie May’ (also known as ‘Maggie Mae’) is a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a ‘homeward bounder’: a sailor coming home from a round-trip. The song specifies several real streets in Liverpool, notably Lime Street in the center of the town.
“The Vipers Skiffle Group formed in the spring of 1956 in central London, originally as a trio of singer-guitarists, including future radio and TV personality Wally Whyton. The group became the resident band at the 2i’s Coffee Bar in Soho. After a number of hit records produced by future Beatles producer George Martin, including Whyton’s song ‘Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O’, the group split up in 1960, and Whyton moved into television work. (Martin would later comment that working with the Vipers gave him important experience in working with an ‘informally trained but enthusiastic group of musicians.’)
First recorded by The Jayhawks (US #18 released May 1956).
Other hit versions by The Cadets (US #15/R&B #4 released June 1956), The Gadabouts (US #39 released July 1956), The Vibrations (US #117 1961), The New York Dolls (1974).
Also recorded by The Nylons (1996).
From the wiki: “‘Stranded in the Jungle’ is a song first recorded by doo-wop group the Jayhawks. It peaked at #18 on the U.S. pop chart. A cover version of the song recorded by another doo-wop group, the Cadets, in 1956 peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #3 on the R&B chart the same week, with yet another cover version, by the Gadabouts, peaking at #34 on the Hot 100 one week later. All three groups would prove to be one-hit wonders, with ‘Stranded in the Jungle’ being the only Top 40 hit for any of them.
Originally recorded by The “5” Royales (US #81 1957).
Inspired by “I Don’t Want You to Go” by The Casanovas (1955).
Other hit versions by The Shirelles (US #89 1959 |US #3 1961 reissue) and The Mamas and The Papas (US #2/UK #2/AUS #5/NZ #10/IRE #7/SA #2 1967).
From the wiki: “‘Dedicated to the One I Love’ is a song written by Lowman Pauling and Ralph Bass which was a hit for The ‘5’ Royales, The Shirelles, and The Mamas & The Papas. Pauling was the guitarist of The ‘5’ Royales; Bass produced the 1957 recording session. The 1957 release peaked at #81 on the Billboard Hot 100. Songwriters Pauling and Bass owed a lot of their inspiration to Chester Mayfield’s song ‘I Don’t Want You To Go’ recorded by the Casanovas in 1955 on Apollo, the former label of The ‘5’ Royales.
Written and first recorded (as “Jock-a-mo”) by Sugar Boy & His Cane Cutters (1953).
Hit versions by The Dixie Cups (US #20 1965), Dr. John (US #71 1972), The Neville Brothers (1981), Natasha (UK #10 1982), Belle Stars (UK #35 1982 |US #14 1989), BeauSoleil (1989).
From the wiki: “The song, under the original title ‘Jock-A-Mo’, was written and released as a single in 1953 by James Crawford as ‘Sugar Boy & His Cane Cutters’ that failed to make the charts. The song that tells of a parade collision between two ‘tribes’ of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation of a ‘spy boy’ (i.e. a lookout for one band of Indians) encountering the ‘flag boy’ or guidon carrier for another ‘tribe.’ He threatens to ‘set the flag on fire.’ Crawford set phrases chanted by Mardi Gras Indians* to music for the song but himself states that he had no idea what the words meant, and that he originally sang the phrase ‘Chock-a-mo’. But, the title was misheard by Chess Records president Leonard Chess, who misspelled it on the label as ‘Jock-a-mo’ for the record’s release.
First recorded by Bo Diddley (May 1956, released 2007).
Hit versions by Mickey & Sylvia (US #11/R&B #1 October 1956), Maddox Brothers & Rose (C&W #82 1957), Betty Everett & Jerry Butler (R&B #42 1964), The Everly Brothers (UK #11, 1965), Peaches & Herb (US #13/R&B #16 1967).
Also recorded by Wings (1971).
From the wiki: “The song was based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams. The song was written by Bo Diddley under the name of his wife at the time, Ethel Smith. The first recorded version of ‘Love Is Strange’ was performed by Diddley, who completed it in a session on May 24, 1956 with Williams on lead guitar.
“However, Diddley’s version was not released until its appearance in 2007 on I’m a Man: The Chess Masters, 1955-1958. (Diddley would maintain that he just never got around to releasing the record.)
Originally recorded by Big Maybelle (1955).
Also recorded by Roy Hall (1955).
Hit version by Jerry Lee Lewis (US #3/C&W #1/R&B #1/UK #38 1957).
From the wiki: “The origins of the song are disputed, but the writing is co-credited to singer/songwriter Dave ‘Curlee’ Williams and pianist, bandleader, and songwriter James Faye ‘Roy’ Hall. Big Maybelle made the first recording of it in March 1955 for Okeh Records, in a session produced by Quincy Jones.
